Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14401335647 

RideWithGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50530187 

What? 

Endless Flat 1200 hosted by the Northern Virginia Randonneurs (NVR) is a grand brevet starting and ending in Richmond, Virginia and looping to and from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. As the name implies the route is very flat, but with the first roughly 600km going south it means a lot of headwinds. 2025 was the first year of the event. 

Why? 

I got lucky and was able to get a position in London-Edinburgh-London (LEL) which is 1,540km with 13,000m climbing. My longest ride before this was 656km. Learning from running where I tried to jump the distance by too much and ended up not finishing, I knew the jump would be too big for me. So I went searching for an early season grand brevet. Golden Falcon looked interesting, but the timing didn’t work. The timing for Endless Flat did work and John was also riding it so we could car pool and share a room. 

Day 1 

“I bonked after that and got really discouraged… I rode most of the day alone.”

The ride started in Richmond, Virginia at 6am on May 3^rd, 2025. We all rolled out as a group of 42 riders. We rode down to the Virginia Capital Trail which is a long beautiful paved trail and were on it for about 70km. It went up and down and there some twists and turns.

I ended up with a good group of about 12 riders. We then got to a water crossing and had to wait for the ferry. After the crossing there was a stop at a convenience store and the group I was riding with left before I was ready to go. This was completely my fault for not being ready to go. Most of the day was going to be headwinds so this was disappointing. I bonked after that and got really discouraged. It was already hotter then any day so far this year back home. I did zero heat acclimation training. I stopped in the shade and put sunscreen on. I rode most of the day alone and eventually John caught up and I rode with him for a lot at the end. We finished at the second hotel in Elizabeth City, North Carolina at 4am completing 412km. 

Day 2 

“I wanted to quit so many times but I didn’t.”

Today was a lollypop that was super flat, but we would be ploughing into the headwind for the first 100 miles. We slept in and left at 10 AM. This was only possible because of the new rule that there is no longer intermediate control point time cutoffs. The RBA had mentioned that it is a fools error to cut sleep short on the first night. This was another very hot sunny day. I stopped many times in the shade contemplating why the hell am I doing this? I wanted to quit so many times but I didn’t. I arrived at the hotel with John covering 328 km at 4am. 

Day 3 

“I was intimidated by riding the Capital Trail in the dark and the rain… this section was 70km long and felt endless.”

The day promised to be the easiest because the wind would be from the south and we would be heading primarily north back to Richmond. Once again because we arrived so late we didn’t leave the hotel until 10 AM. I know I could leave whenever I wanted. I didn’t have to leave with John, but I was banking on his experience and knowledge to help me be successful at completing this grand brevet. The start of the day had us going south into the headwind one more time. It was funny because we passed by the airport and near there was a sign that said crosswinds.

We rolled together for about the first 50 km the wind was helpful once we started going north, but not as helpful as I thought it was going to be. After having a tub of oat ice cream and a Gatorade for lunch in Suffolk the wind was absolutely howling and lucky me it was at my back, the food and the wind really helped me push to get back to the ferry. I was hoping to finish the day before midnight. By luck the fairy had just arrived when I got to the port. It started raining on the ferry ride and it got dark.

I was intimidated by riding the Capital Trail in the dark and the rain. It wasn’t overly technical, but there were some ups and downs, where you could pick up a lot of speed and I was worried there would be a sharp corner that I forgot about and I would have an accident. My lighting on my bike is fantastic (hub powered Schmidt Edelux II) but not great for seeing long distances as the lights are pointed to the ground. Thankfully, the rain only lasted for a bit, but this section was 70km long and felt endless. I stopped many times because I was so tired.  Thankfully, eventually it ended, and I got to the hotel at 12:30am riding 273km. 

Day 4 

“When I got on the last road, I knew I was done and I started crying.”

This day was different then the rest. It promised to be hilly. But it was the last day and “only” 200 km. John and I had talked and we were going to get up at 8am but I woke up at 6:30 and could not get back to sleep so I started getting my my stuff ready. John also woke up and decided he would start soon too. I rolled out around 8am with the goal to the first control at 50 km without stopping. But I quickly stopped at 25 km because I was overheating. Unfortunately, immediately after that, I was cold. So I put my rain jacket on as it’s easy to take off. I wore the rain jacket for about 10 minutes, but it was worth it. This next section I struggled really badly. I started to fall asleep. I started to go really slowly. I wanted to walk the hills. So learning from experience, I ate a bunch of chocolate espresso beans and waited for them to kick in, thankfully they did and I was able to resume, but the hill’s were a plenty so progress was slow. Eventually, I made it to the next stop at 98 km which was in West Point, Virginia and biked by the massive sawmill, which stinks. I stopped at the 7-Eleven and came up with the great idea to chug a Red Bull to help keep my energy up, and by luck it worked. The next control was super close at 111 km at a church. I stopped there and really enjoyed it. It was super quiet sunny and a beautiful day to relax. I chugged another Red Bull and was on my way.

There was a bunch of rolly hills here, so progress was slow again. Thankfully, I kept micro focusing on just the next turn which was never more than 9km away. At the next control, there was a couple randonneeurs who had bought a bag of ice and offered to share with me. It was really hot again, and I could feel my stomach turning and my speed slowing. I put ice in my shorts, under my arm sleeves, in my helmet, in my shirt, anywhere where I could get it lodged also in my gloves this felt amazing and I didn’t care anymore because I only had 56 km to go.

I started sprinting hills as hard as I could go. Eventually, I got to the last control at 170km. I knew I was going to finish. I didn’t want to promise myself this as I know anything can happen, but with so little kilometers left, it felt inevitable. But you never know so I still didn’t know. The last stretch is through town and you are on a highway with a nice shoulder, but there are lights. These lights take a long time to change. So trying to exhaust myself I sprinted as hard as I could go after every light after it turned green. I think I sprinted about five times. When I got on the last road, I knew I was done and I started crying. When I got inside the hotel, the party had just started and I got introduced as this was my first time finishing a 1200, everybody cheered, then I went upstairs to have a shower and came downstairs to ate lots of pizza. 

Completing this has greatly increased my confidence in riding long distances multiple days in a row. I am now feeling much more confident for LEL. 

Lessons learned? 

– Double check sunscreen container amount. The big bottle I brought to fill the little bottle was nearly empty. 

– I need to be able to stay comfortably on the bike for longer durations. 

– There were a lot of very experienced people on the ride. I tried to listen to their advice as everyone knew this was my first grand brevet. 

– Most street signs are meant for car height, not bike light height, so at night I could not see what the sign was saying. I should invest in a helmet light. This could also act as a backup light. 

– Organization is key. My frame bag holds food, sunscreen, and chamois butter. While I am riding, I like to eat, organizing the food to make it easy to get makes life a heck of a lot easier. I did this by having little candy bags of each item I like to snack on and having them aligned to where I could easily get them when I open the bag. 

– It’s OK to lie to yourself. This isn’t a negative thing. I’m not doing this to hurt myself. I’m doing this to let myself vent and then move on. I promised I would quit and I would stop so many times and I would keep going or I would stop and then five minutes later I would keep going and maybe stop again and keep going. 

– Gotoes will successfully join tcx files from multiple long rides, fit file tools will not. I might just buy a more expensive Garmin so I don’t have to join files. 

– Bike fit the aero position. My shoulders killed me when holding this too long. 

– Apply chamois cream often. 🫣 

– It might be painful now, but it will pass. My shoulders would complain loudly then stop. 

– Know the signs of a bonk. Such as I just want to spin easy for a bit or stop or do I have to pee. Sometimes you think you are bonking, but the road conditions are making it hard. Is it a false flat, bumpy road? 

– Have a route recording backup plan. Some people use multiple Garmins. Spotwalla works too. 

Contact Points 

– The palm of my hands got quite sore, I’m going to put an under layer below the bar tape of something squishy to see if that is more comfortable. 

– My shoulders were absolutely killing me at points during the ride, I’m hoping the thicker bars make it better. 

– I had hot feet, my right was worse then my left, I am wonder if the wedges in my shoes are making the situation worse. 

– At the bottom of my glutes and top my hamstrings got really sore. I need to adjust my position. Need to research what to do. 

Random Notes 

-West Point smells so bad and has a massive (150 foot high) pile of saw dust. 

-The drivers in NC, 99% of the time would patiently wait behind you until it was safe to pass and go to the other side of the road. 

-There is a road and church named `Holly Fork` which is fun to say Wholey Fork! And another road named `Cool hill` (very disappointing). 

-`Pocahontas trail` is not a trail, it’s a 4 lane highway. 

-For the first time ever I had my chain get stuck between the big and small chainring. 

-Firsts: 745km in 2 days, 1018km in 3 days, 1218 in 4 days, 4 by 200km. 

At 3 a.m., somewhere between the south edge of Lake Huron and Goderich, the sky began to split open.

We were five riders deep into a Flèche, tracing a line across Southern Ontario, 420 kilometers in 24 hours. The roads were hushed, as if the world had stepped away and left the lights burning. The sky held its breath. Rain was forecast, but the storms passed just wide of us, as though we were being spared, or simply overlooked.

What I remember most from that hour is the lightning. Not the crack of it, but the light. It bloomed on all sides, lighting up the wind turbines, the dark water, and the reflective stripe on the back of Jim’s rain jacket. There was no thunder, just light, and the soft whisper of tires on damp pavement.

We talk about design like it’s something done in well-lit rooms, with wireframes and foresight. But this ride reminded me how often we build things, routes and systems and relationships, without knowing what lies ahead. Designing in the dark is not a metaphor. It’s what we do every time we set out with only partial knowledge, hoping the road we’ve planned will carry us through.

Our Flèche route had been built weeks in advance, carefully calibrated for terrain, distance, and timing. But you never really know until you’re in it. Until your left knee starts to ache, or you fall asleep at a control like your body has flipped a switch. Until you start brainstorming the worst app imaginable, and somehow you’re all laughing and talking about ethics and design as if it were a game.

It was a team ride. That’s what made it work. Marc brought us together and kept us moving with a steady supply of Monster Energy and relentless optimism. Michael, a human dynamo, talked faster the farther we rode. Edward was steady, the kind of rider who makes everything feel manageable. Jim was gentle, positive, thoughtful. Never in a hurry. Never off rhythm. Natalie met us at remote controls with water, a sense of humour just dry enough to keep us honest, and a quiet urgency that made sure we left every control on time. I had tested new shoes, which you’re not supposed to do on a ride like this. My knee let me know. But no one judged. We adjusted. A solid tailwind pushed us ahead of schedule, and we held that rhythm all the way through.

There’s something profound about designing as a group, in motion, in conditions that change by the minute. The route was fixed, but the way we rode it wasn’t. No one owned the pace. We made it together, one decision at a time.

We arrived at the Crazy Canuck in St. Jacobs just before 6 p.m. the next day. Other teams trickled in, soaked and sleep-deprived, and we greeted each other over burgers and pizza. They had all designed and ridden their own routes, and they had their own stories to tell.

Buds on Bikes and Beauty and the Beasts pose for a photo when they both sought shelter from a raging storm at Tim Hortons in Blyth, a control point both of their routes shared. Front row from left to right: Michel Hébert (asleep), Jim Mullenix, Philip DeVries, Marc Deshaies (with a brownie in his mouth). Back row: Edward Soldo, Paul Ragogna, Alden Ozburn, Michael Charland, Fred Chagnon, Rob Reinecker.